1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to transportation equipment. More specifically, the invention relates to an apparatus for transporting automobile seats to an assembly plant.
2. Background Art
The manufacture of automobiles involves the receipt and assembly of a great many components. The manufacturer places a premium on efficiency and organization of an assembly line. Such efficiency is critical to avoiding costly delays and increasing productivity. Typically, a manufacturer will receive numerous components for the finished product from many different suppliers. It is incumbent upon those suppliers to make the transfer and unloading of the components as easy and as efficient as possible for the manufacturer.
One example of a component that is necessary for a manufacturer is the seats for an automobile. In modern automobiles such as mini-vans and sport utility vehicles (SUVs), as many as five different types of seats are used in the same vehicle. For example, a typical mini-van has three rows of seating. The first row includes an individual seat for the driver on the left and a front passenger on the right. The second row also includes individual seats for two passengers with one each on the left and right. The third row is typically a single bench seat that holds multiple passengers. Each of these seats is different from the others due to customized features such as folding armrests, power adjustments, heaters, etc. Prior art shipping procedures for seats involved the use of separate trucks that each carried one type of seat. Typically, seats for assembly are delivered in trailers hauled by tractor-trailer trucks. The standard dimensions for a tractor trailer includes a 113 inch high opening at the rear of the trailer and an interior length of 53 feet. The trailer has two sets of 47 inch tires that are mounted on two separate axles. The trailer carried seats in a two-tiered arrangement with thirty pallets of seats on the floor of the trailer and thirty pallets of seats carried above the lower pallets of seats.
Consequently, an assembly plant for a manufacturer may be faced with organizing five separate receiving lines for seats from five separate receiving docks. This procedure involves a significant amount of time and effort to co-ordinate the receipt and organization of the seats into sets for assembly into a single automobile.
In some aspects, the invention relates to an apparatus for transporting automobile seats, comprising: a container suitable for transporting a plurality of automobile seats; and a storage bracket located within the container, where the storage bracket holds a plurality of sets of automobile seats that are segregated by set.
In other aspects, the invention relates to an apparatus for transporting automobile seats, comprising: means for storing the plurality of automobile seats; and means for transporting the plurality of automobile seats.
The advantages of the invention include an efficient way to transport automobile seats for assembly where the seats are loaded and unloaded by sets. A set is all of the different types of seats that a necessary for assembly in a single automobile. Other aspects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the appended claims.